Posts from March 2009

March 29, 2009

Holy shit, this blog made me laugh out loud so hard that I had to instantly post a link to it even though it is way past my bedtime, and I only now just got home after locking myself out of my apartment (no kidding!).

If you don't believe me that dating online is one scary adventure, this blog will prove it ten fold, and possibly also make you pee in your pants in the process. You've been warned.

I started off this year with a rekindled determination to try and meet someone. Surprisingly, I managed to, but it was very short lived, and I have to confess that after that episode, I lost interest again and have basically been ignoring my earlier resolution.

It's not hard to do most of the time, either, given my schedule. As Renee Zellweger says, 'I'm not single, I'm busy.' Maybe it's a bit of a cop out, but it is kind of true. That and the fact that it feels impossible to meet people in this city means I'm not really expecting anything to change. Even online dating feels completely discouraging. For one thing, it feels unappealingly like shopping, and without the guarantee that if you add something to your cart and check out, you'll get what you ordered in a timely fashion. There don't seem to be any rules of etiquette, or rules in general, with online dating. Plus, it affords you the opportunity to be picky and opt out before you've even done anything.

In short, I think I'm going to stick to dating myself awhile longer (after all, I always have a good time) and be content with listening to my virtual celebrity boyfriend's music.

March 23, 2009

I think I might have inspired myself. Writing this article about yoga and RA made me miss taking a real, bonafide yoga class something awful, so I figured it was time to finally end my yoga exile and take one. Luckily for me, my old yoga studio recently added a purely restorative yoga class back onto the schedule (hooRAY!) on Sunday evenings, a most perfect time for me and my schedule, and a most perfect time to do some soothing, quieting yoga.

I have to admit that I was feeling a little sappy and even apprehensive about taking class again. Would I start crying on the mat in front of everyone? Would the once familiar setting feel comforting or be just another reminder of how much everything has changed?

See, back in the day, I used to spend multiple hours a week, every week, at this studio. I started practicing there almost from the time I moved to New York City and instantly loved it. It reminded me of a studio I had practiced at weekly when I lived in London, and I felt welcomed, happy and rejuvenated each time I took a class there. I eventually came to know many of the teachers pretty well, and then decided to take the journey to become a yoga teacher myself. The training program I did lasted over nine intense months, and in those nine months, the studio became a home away from home. I ate there, I practiced there, I made close friends there, I learned there and worked hard there. Hell, I even slept there once or twice when I had time to kill and needed a nap!

For a good three years, my path in the city led me to the doors of this studio nearly every day. Much of my social circle was made up of people I had met through practicing there. In many way, as much as my office and my apartment, this yoga studio was a mini-center of my world. And then, suddenly, it wasn't anymore. In the past year, I didn't go there once. Many of the friends and acquaintances I had made through my connection to this studio have since fallen away, as so often happens when everyone leads very busy lives. Out of sight, out of mind, as much for me as for them. Though I've begun to practice again, I have done so in the comfort and privacy of my own apartment, all by myself.

But yesterday, I picked up my mat and walked back through those doors. The teacher was one I knew, but not all that well, so I didn't have to worry about any looks of concern or having to explain anything. I could just be myself, not my RA. I gathered all my props, rolled out my mat, and then proceeded to take one of the best classes ever.

It was so nice to experience my body feeling good- not just ok, but genuinely good! And it was so lovely to do it in a big bright studio that smelled like incense with a group of other people! I admit I had a few moments of not being sure it was a good idea when we did a restorative downward facing dog pose towards the beginning of class. I still don't like to stay in that asana very long due to my wrists, but I decided to give it a try and see how it felt before I made any decisions, and you know what, it was fine. I was fine.

After that, it was pretty much bliss. I even managed to achieve that wonderful half-sleep/half-awake/slightly buzzed state during one of the poses, which made me really happy; ever since the RA showed up, I have had trouble reaching that state, no matter how long I hang out in a restorative pose.

March 18, 2009

It's taken me a little while to sit down and write about my yoga practice and how RA has affected it, and vice versa. Find out why by heading on over to MyRACentral.com to check out my latest post and see the awesome comic strip by Jane Samborski.

Have any of you tried yoga as a way to treat your own health difficulties? If so, leave a comment and let me know what your experience was like!

March 13, 2009

So I just got off my flight, where I enjoyed non-stop live TV at my seat thanks to Jet Blue, whose new terminal at JFK makes flying feel almost glamorous and delicious. I was in heaven catching up on some of my favorite TV shows like The Office and 30 Rock that I normally have to watch via netflix and am perpetually behind given that fact. But what caught my attention most of all during the flight was not how cute John Krasinsky (my other virtual celebrity boyfriend) is, but the infamous Enbrel commercial where a woman, who evidently has RA, exclaims that she didn't know RA could attack her joints.

Wait, what?

Yes, you read that correctly. That is what it says.

You may have already seen this commercial. I had only heard about it, but now that I've actually seen it myself, I have to say, I was horrified. What were they thinking????? It was kind of embarrassing, and I found myself feeling surprisingly angry- commercials don't tend to bring up such strong emotions for me, but this one did.

Enbrel, if you are reading this, please discontinue this commercial as soon as possible. I love what you do for my RA, but this commercial is insulting and makes out like people who have RA are completely ignorant about a disease that has no cure, will likely chop 10-15 years off their lives, and oh yeah, will completely take out all of their joints if they don't find a successful treatment.

If there is one thing anyone knows when you say the word arthritis, be it osteo or rheumatoid or psoriatic, it is that it affects the joints.

Please, for the love of all of us RA peeps, don't run this commercial anymore.

OK. I will put my soap box away now and go to bed, achy joints and all.

March 12, 2009

Literally, I am at the airport enjoying jet blue's awesome free wifi, so why not put up a quick post?It's another business trip, but within the trip, I'm going to be able to squeeze in some eating (what else) that will totally kill my diet and probably take another 10 years off my life, but hey, what's a gal with an appetite and a fancy palette to do?

We are going here, and I can't wait. Hopefully the weekend will not send my RA into a downward spiral. Lene Anderson wrote a great post over at RACentral.com about how on good days, she always pushes too hard because RA is so unpredictable, and it leads to a 'seize the moment' frenzy at times. I completely identify with this, and have a feeling I'll be pushing this weekend. Sigh.

March 08, 2009

As we all know, RA as a disease has been suffering from a major publicity crisis. I’ve been writing about it here on my blog and over at MyRACentral.com, and many of you have been writing right back. I think we are all in agreement that RA needs some critical PR attention and a makeover…. and that’s exactly what I hope the mini-documentary I just shot will do.

About a month ago, I got an email from a producer working with WebMD. He told me that they were shooting a series of short documentaries about people living with RA, and would I be interested in being a part of it? Boy, was I.

We talked, but after our initial conversation, I left to go to Austria, and by the time I got back, it seemed that it might not work out for them timing-wise. Luckily for me, the winds changed and the producer contacted me again about two weeks ago to tell me that they wanted to go ahead and schedule the shoot to happen.

So this weekend, my apartment was transformed into a mini-set, and I was transformed into a temporary reality TV star (or at least, that’s what it felt like.)

The producer and the crew (who were all really great and tons of fun) arrived at my apartment yesterday afternoon to follow me around on a ‘typical’ day. This particular typical day was going to show me shopping and getting ready for another cocktail party and night out with some good friends of mine. In no time at all, I found myself walking out of my apartment and into Manhattan with an entourage of three in tow. And then I found myself walking out of my apartment and into Manhattan with an entourage of three in tow a few more times as they needed to capture certain shots along the way. You’ve heard it before, but now you’ll hear it here; reality TV isn’t real.

We got on the subway and headed down to the greenmarket at Union Square – one of my favorite places in the city – to get some food and wine for the evening’s festivities. The idea was to show how doing normal, every day activities is more challenging now that I have RA. It’s also more challenging when you have to do it all on camera and try and look normal. I had my handy-dandy little cart with me to help carry all the groceries, and some dormant acting skills from majoring in theater during college to help me pull off the rest. Once we loaded up and got the shots they needed, we headed back uptown.

The rest of the night unfolded and was lots of fun despite being under the microscope. I’m not going to give away the whole night here, but suffice it to say that you definitely get better treatment at bars in New York City when you have a camera crew following you around. You also get some stares and people craning their necks to see if any of you might be famous. Sadly for them, it was just little unknown me.

This morning, I woke up early to let one of the producers and the crew in so they could shoot an interview with me. My apartment was transformed even more, with bright lights and sound equipment set up all over the place. (Talk about a crowded house – all those people and all that equipment in my tiny little studio apartment made for one cramped space.)

Once they were done setting everything up, we went through the interview, which was basically me talking about what it is like to be young, single and living in New York City with RA. I think it went pretty well, and I’m definitely excited to see how things will turn out once they are done with the editing. I’m hoping that maybe, since this is being shot for the web instead of the big screen, that the camera will only add five pounds instead of ten. But either way, I’m thrilled that RA is finally getting some attention and, most importantly, that a range of stories is being included in the series.

March 04, 2009

After the response from my post a few weeks ago about how totally lame RA is and how it desperately needs to be re-branded, it seemed there was more to talk about. Check it out as a comic strip over at MyRACentral and leave a comment if you haven't already (or even if you have!).

3. Don't suggest
you go out for a drink after dinner. Get it over with at dinner.

4. If you can't manage to have 'the conversation' during dinner and
insist on going out for drinks in order to take care of business, don't
make your date pay for her drink just so you can dump her. Have a
little class and pony up the $5 for the beer.

5. Don't order two beers before you finally get around to telling her.

6. Don't leave your backpack at her apartment. Do her the courtesy of taking it with you so she can leave your
ass at the bar.

7. Don't tell her you really hope she'll still come to your party in a few weeks. She won't, and it's a little insulting.

8. Don't expect her to make you feel better about the fact that you just dumped her. That's both weird and pathetic.

9. Don't tell her how awesome she is as consolation. If you really thought she was that awesome, you probably wouldn't be dumping her. You'd be dumping the other girl.

10. Don't let all of the above take three hours to unfold. Breaking up is like ripping off a band aid-best get it over with quickly.